20/03/18 Start of the journey & Kumamoto

 

20/03/18 Here I am, at Sydney airport, starting the journey to the world! No queue at the check-in, maybe because it is late in the middle of the week. I am waiting for Xa who is on his way to meet me at the airport, stuck on the train.

Just after he shows up, the stewardess tells me that I should not cross the gate as the flight might be canceled, as the crew captain is not feeling well, without her the plane won’t fly. What a great start! Then after a few minutes, the flight is only delayed, but not canceled. It looks like I will still be able to make the connection to Fukuoka. Xa offers me a glass of Moscato just before boarding. The stopover is in Taipei, Taiwan. The airport is nice and modern, too bad everything is closed, it is 4.30 in the morning. After landing in Fukuoka, I hope to ship my small suitcase to Tokyo so I don’t have to carry it for 6 weeks before going to Belgium, but the shipping company at the airport can only do it 7 days in advance, not 6 weeks. Well I will find a way to store it somewhere. I check on the map, my first booking is in Kumamoto, about 2h south. It will take me 2 buses and a train to get to my hostel. The fun thing is, everything is written in Japanese of course, so after a stop at the info desk, I think I know where to find the right bus. Then I do my first trip on the Shinkansen, the bullet train, very similar to the TGV we have in Europe. At Kumamoto, I find a locker to store my small suitcase, I will pick it up tomorrow on my way back to Fukuoka.

Not so lucky, it rained when I arrived in Kumamoto. I have an app with a map of Japan that I can access offline, so I find easily my way to the hotel. What a great trick! The hotel is located in a covered shopping area, in the centre, close to the castle I want to visit. With access to the hotel wifi, I can activate my SIM card and be connected to the internet. Yay!

After some wandering around, I realise that the castle is walking distance away from the hotel, and as the cherry blossom season has started, I read that they light up the trees around the castle so I decide to check it out. I put an extra layer on (12 degrees when you come from Sydney is not much!), and walk to the castle. My first cherry trees ;).

Unfortunately, due to an earthquake 2 years ago, some parts of the castle have been damaged, ground has fallen down, and the castle is now closed to visitors. However, the shops, restaurants are still open, and I can still walk around the castle, which offers a very nice scenery.

22/03/18 I found a bakery that makes fresh chocolate buns that I like. This will be my breakfast. As there is a long drive to Fukuoka, I decide to go straight there after check-out. The express bus is much cheaper than the bullet train, and I have time. In Hakata station, I manage to find the bus terminal (4 or 5 levels of bus platforms with rarely a word of English to guide me!). Then I realise I didnt leave the small suitcase in Hakata but in Kumamoto! Well I will have to go back, after I drop my bag at the hostel in Fukuoka.

I have a 30min walk to my hostel, Nekokura, refuge for cats. Not easy with the 20kg suitcase which I already find too heavy. How do people manage this without wheels?!

The hotel owner is a friendly lady who speaks a bit of English. An hour later, she knocks at my door to offer a visit to the cats zone. Only 1 other guest, Japanese, also keen to join the visit. After a swap of slippers, we sit on a heated floor among the 9 cats rescued from the government, sentenced to death as there are too many cats around. The lady hopes to find a new house for the cats, aged 6month to 10 years. We get a chance to take pics, cuddle, feed and play with the cats, then I decide to go back to Kumamoto, as I fear I cant use the locker more than 3 days.

In Kumamoto, I find my suitcase, grab dinner in the food court and a pack of peanuts for my bus trip back to Fukuoka.